MGM produced this sleeper-hit gem, based on the final book written
by Dashiell Hammett, with a small-ish budget and a shooting schedule
that lasted barely more than two weeks in length, but would generate
enough buzz to become something of a phenomenon, becoming a series
of films (six in all), not to mention spinning off into the realms
of radio and television. Even with little initial promotion, it
would garner such popularity, it would not only be a box office hit,
but would also garner four Oscar nomination, including the vaunted
Best Picture.

It's a mystery, and a good one, though its main
pleasures lay not in the details of the crime or in discovering the
culprit so much as the witty repartee of its stars, who quip and
snip at each other in refreshing ways that would be emulated in
murder mystery films and TV shows even to this day.

Even
though the series would continue with "The Thin Man" in the titles
(much as the way the Pink Panther series would), the thin
man is not William Powell's character, but rather, the absent-minded professor who
goes missing and whose whereabouts and activities provide the main
plot of this film. That man's name is Clyde Wynant (Ellis,
I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang), who is
alarmed to discover that his secretary (and mistress), Julia Wolf
(Moorhead, The Phantom of Paris),
has stolen $50,000 from his safe. After a confrontation, he
goes away and doesn't come back, spurning his daughter Dorothy
(O'Sullivan, Hannah and Her Sisters)to
seek a private detective to learn his whereabouts.

That
detective, albeit reluctantly, is Nick Charles (Powell, My Man
Godfrey), who has more or less
retired from the game after 'marrying up' to his wealthy and
attractive wife Nora (Loy, The Best Years of Our Lives), although the latter is quite enthusiastic at
getting to the bottom of the mystery herself and coaxes him on.
But soon, others who might know the solution to the mystery end up
murdered as well, with all signs pointing to old man Wynant, who
certainly had an axe to grind with the victims. This doesn't
sit well with Nick, who finally puts down his martinis and takes
action, and, along with Nora and loyal wire-haired terrier Asta,
gets to the bottom of the mystery of Wynant's whereabouts, as well
as exposing the person responsible for the murders.

The
comical and romantic chemistry between stars William Powell and
Myrna Loy sells much of the movie, and it's interesting to note that
much of their interplay doesn't really push forward much of the
plot. In fact, these moments generate momentum, rather than
stall in lulls, precisely because we want to see these two continue
their interplay while out on an adventure just to see just how much
trouble they can get themselves into, and the clever ways they'll be
able to get out of it. As well cast as the film is, they
benefit from good humor, some of it quite bawdy by 1930s standards,
by the team of Albert Hackett and Frances Goodrich (Seven
Brides for Seven Brothers, It's a Wonderful Life), who deliver sparkling
dialogue for their characters without losing emphasis on the plot
taken from the Hammett book, which they lift quite faithfully
despite the Hollywood touches.

The Thin Man is a
delight that, despite countless emulators, remains very entertaining
today especially for fans of old Hollywood features and mysteries
with a bantering romantic comedy backbone.

-- Followed
by After the Thin Man (1936), Another Thin Man
(1939), Shadow of the Thin Man (1941), The Thin Man
Goes Home (1945), and Song of the Thin Man (1947).
Also became a TV series in 1957.